US 'visa-for-house' bill gets range of reactions

The proposal, crafted by Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Mike Lee, would allow Chinese nationals, who are currently required to apply for a new U.S. visa every year, to seek five-year, multiple-entry visitor visas, according to AFP.

The average Chinese visitor to the United States spends US$6,000, the lawmakers said in a statement.

With the U.S. housing market still in a slump four years after the subprime mortgage crisis, the bill would provide an unprecedented three-year residential visa for foreign nationals who invest US$500,000 in a U.S. home.

At least US$250,000 must go to a primary residence in which the buyer will live for at least 180 days out of the year “while paying taxes to the U.S.,” the statement said.

With news of the bill appearing on some websites in China on Friday, the prospect of getting U.S. visas for investing in a house worth US$500,000 has sparked discussion among Chinese Internet users, partially due to surging house prices in China in recent years.

The market price of an average apartment in central areas of major Chinese cities often exceeds the amount. A Chinese report on Netease, one of the portal sites in China, received more than 40,000 comments, with some of them eagerly discussing the prospect of residing in the United States at the cost of US$500,000.

But many pointed out that foreigners with residence visas cannot work in the U.S. under current immigration rules.

“The residence visa is not a green card,” an Internet user named “Shirley_CPM” said on weibo.com, a popular microblogging site in China. “Since you cannot work, study, start a company, or have any social benefits, and have to stay in the U.S. for a full six months, what is the use for that?”

Other microbloggers said the likelihood of the bill being adopted is low, as the conditions are different in various states, and the bill will have a huge effect on immigrant investment regulations.

A microblogger named “Shizifeiyang” said U.S. politicians are “smart” for introducing the bill, as it will not cause an influx of labor to compete with U.S. nationals for jobs, and in addition to stimulating the real estate sector, it will also boost consumption, as the people residing in the U.S. will need to purchase daily necessities.

Xiao Lian, a fellow of the U.S. Economy Research Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the bill is nothing new and will not become a major issue. The U.S. already has laws that regulate how immigrants can invest, he said.

“There are also difficulties in implementing it, since the issue involves a series of problems, such as homeland security in the U.S.,” he added.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

PrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email